Invuity Raises $25 Million in Series D Funding

Published June 14, 2012

Invuity, a leading developer of state-of-the-art surgical visualization and illumination technology, has raised a $25 million Series D round of financing to expand the development, manufacturing and commercialization of the company’s advanced medical devices.

The financing was led by Valence Advantage Life Sciences Fund II (“Valence Advantage”), which is run by the team that also manages the Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund. Existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and InterWest Partners also participated in the financing round, along with Wexford Capital. Eric Roberts from Valence Advantage will join Invuity’s Board of Directors.

“Invuity has done a remarkable job of commercializing breakthrough products which are essential in surgical specialties, such as spine, orthopedics and key sectors of oncology including breast and thyroid,” said Roberts, a managing director and the co-founder of Valence Life Sciences. “As a result of Invuity’s novel products, the company has had rapid market adoption and has entered into partnerships around specific products with some of the world’s largest medical device companies.”

Invuity’s products integrate the company’s proprietary Eigr™ (pronounced eye-gr) technology with advanced access devices to enhance visualization during minimally invasive surgeries. Invuity’s current product line addresses approximately two million annual procedures in the United States alone. Earlier this year, Invuity introduced several new devices, including the illuminated Eigr™ Breast Retractor System, which has generated significant interest from leading breast surgeons across the country.

“Invuity has gained real momentum in the market since the commercial launch of Eigr™ technology about a year ago,” said Philip Sawyer, CEO of Invuity. “We entered a market that has had little innovation for a long time. Surgeons feel our technology is truly ‘different in kind’ once they have tried our products, which has been the foundation of our early success. We provide important technology that allows surgeons to clearly visualize anatomy during minimally invasive procedures, where typically sight is extremely limited. This can allow for smaller incisions and more advanced procedures.”

The highly engineered Eigr™ technology utilizes unique optical structures to control light output to a targeted operative space. Eigr™ technology virtually eliminates shadows, back reflection, glare and thermal effects such as overheating because surgeons can direct the light from multiple angles and efficiently manage light across a broad output surface.

About Invuity Invuity develops medical devices to dramatically improve visualization in minimally invasive surgeries. The company’s products incorporate its proprietary Eigr™ illumination technology into advanced access systems for a variety of surgical specialties. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.invuity.com

About Valence Life Sciences Valence Life Sciences is a New York-and San Diego-based life sciences venture capital firm founded by Dr. Rachel Leheny and Eric Roberts to focus on late stage private and micro-cap public companies. The other members of Valence Life Sciences’ investment team include managing directors, Jay Cecil and Scott Morenstein. The investment team currently manages Valence Advantage Life Sciences Fund II and also manages the Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund which was formed in 2006 as a joint venture with Caxton Associates, the investment firm founded by Bruce Kovner.